AAPL Up Strong As Market Rallies Stocks are higher in early trading to end the week as European finance ministers meet to discuss a debt crisis that threatens to wreak havoc on several countries. Shares of AAPL are up strong on news that we are weeks away from the iPhone 5 launch (see below). Catalysts also include the iPad 3 in the spring of 2012; continued adoption in China and other emerging markets; iCloud / iOS 5 rollout and adoption; the continued evolution and next generation of Apple TV; and new platforms such as mobile advertising (iAd), books / publishing and social (Ping). Shares of Apple trade at 10x Enterprise Value / Trailing Twelve Months Free Cash Flow (including long-term marketable securities).

...Or Are There Production Delays? (9To5Mac)Some new details on the iPhone 5, and they're not good. It appears the new phone is seeing continued design and production delays, at least from one production source. That means the iPhone 5 will be delayed (has been delayed) slightly at the very least and may see shortages. Additionally, however, an iPhone 4 look alike is being manufactured in large quantities right now. These phones will be "priced aggressively" and they will be "everywhere." And there's the low end of the market.

Apple In No Hurry To Launch iPad 3 This Year (Bloomberg)Apple shouldn't be in any rush to introduce its iPad 3 tablet computer as potential rivals have failed to emerge to siphon sales from the current model, according to JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz. While “there are prototypes in the supply chain related to the next-generation device,” it will likely not be available until 2012, he said. “That timing appears reasonable, given the rigid refresh cycles that Apple applies to all of its product lines. iPad 2 just launched this past spring.”

China Telecom Planning $230 Million iPhone Marketing Plan (BGR)China's number three wireless carrier is readying a massive marketing and advertising blitz as it prepares to begin taking iPhone 5 pre-orders at the end of this month. Chinese-language daily newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily reported that China Telecom has already begun training staff in preparation for the launch of Apple's fifth-generation iPhone handset. Referred to as the "Dragon Plan" could see China Telecom spend the equivalent of $234.6 million to market Apple's hardware. That could really boost Apple's China sales.

Apple Talks LTE Network With World's Largest Carrier (Bloomberg)China Mobile's chairman Wang Jianzhou went on the record to confirm (sort of) that an iPhone version for their fourth-generation TD-LTE network is coming in ongoing talks with Apple. The world's largest mobile operator supports the global 2.5 GHz spectrum band for time-division long-term evolution (TD-LTE). The carrier has been working to launch this data network and wants to see that Apple's iPhone is compatible. Who wouldn't? Please bring it to Clearwire here in the U.S.

Android Bleeds Market Share To New Entrants, iPad (Various via iDygest)Apple not only continues to dominate the global tablet market, its share of the market continues to grow while Android's slips to new entrants, including the much-criticized Research In Motion PlayBook and even the discontinued Hewlett-Packard TouchPad. According to IDC, overall tablet shipments were up 88.9% sequentially in the second quarter, that's a 303.8% year-over-year increase to 13.6 million units. Apple took a 68.3% share in the second quarter, up about 3% from the first quarter.